


Animals (aka How to Strengthen Your Relationship by Raising Chickens)

by Dellefox



Series: Pridecember 2020 [15]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Adult Language, Aged-Up Character(s), And also a rooster, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chickens, Domestic Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Lots of chickens, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Out of character yami marik, Prideshipping, Slice of Life, Some angst, altered character ages, reference to past abuse, relationship rebuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28368645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dellefox/pseuds/Dellefox
Summary: After visiting a farm during a school field trip, Mokuba decides he wants to try his hand at raising chickens. What starts out as a fun project at the Kaiba manor ends up unexpectedly aiding Seto and Atem in the process of rebuilding their relationship. Prideshipping, Off-Grid AU, altered character ages, domestic fluff. M for language and adult references.For YGO Pridecember 2020. Prompt: Animals
Relationships: Atem/Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi, Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi | Atem
Series: Pridecember 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037481
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Animals (aka How to Strengthen Your Relationship by Raising Chickens)

**Author's Note:**

> More prompts for Pridecember! This one I've been sitting on for awhile. It's a precursor to the Off-Grid AU, set after the High School AU. I didn't want to just have them get a dog or a cat, and given Mokuba's sassy, bubbly personality, I thought chickens would be a perfect fit. 
> 
> And as per usual, I couldn't keep this one light because Seto and Atem are just way too damn extra for that. <3 
> 
> Yamis in this AU are Bakura and Marik, hikaris go by Ryou and Malik. 
> 
> Altered character ages came from an arc I wrote way back in high school that has been scrubbed from the annals of history and needs to stay there. :P 
> 
> Ages:  
> Mai - 23  
> Seto - 21  
> Atem - 20 at start, turns 21 partway through  
> Bakura – 20 at start, turns 21 partway through  
> Marik - 20  
> Joey - 17  
> Mokuba - 10 at start, turns 11 partway through

_May 2003_

"Seto, can we get chickens?"

Seto Kaiba raised an eyebrow at his younger brother as he sipped his third coffee of the morning. 

He'd been expecting Mokuba to ask for a pet for several weeks, as most of his school friends had a dog or a cat, sometimes both. One had a bearded dragon. Another friend had a snake. 

But chickens? He hadn't been prepared for that. 

"Why do you want a chicken?" he asked. 

" _Chickens,_ Seto. You can't own just one, they get lonely without a flock. I want chickens because they're pretty and they have a lot of personality. And then you get eggs as an added bonus." He stirred his cereal. 

"We have no need for eggs," Seto replied. "Isono keeps the kitchen well-stocked when he goes shopping."

"Please, Seto? I know they're a lot of work but I can take care of them, I promise.”

In retrospect, Seto realized he should have probably seen it coming. He and Atem recently chaperoned a field trip when the school was short on volunteers, and the class visited a small farm outside of the city to learn about organic agriculture. Mokuba was enthralled as soon as they got off the bus, taking detailed notes on everything from how crops were grouped for companion planting to irrigation to how they raised the livestock. He'd been especially interested in the chickens. The farm raised a variety of breeds, in varying colors, with beautiful, silky tail feathers and patterns, and the students got to gather eggs.

"Have you done any research on them? I know they look easy, but there's a lot more involved than just feeding them and gathering eggs. They'll need shelter from harsh weather and predators, and bedding, and sometimes they get sick -"

"I know all that. Trust me, I've got it covered. Here."

He pulled a flash drive out of his pocket(a direct competitor or KaibaCorp, Seto noted irritably) and set it on the table. 

"What's this?" He picked up the clearly inferior storage device and eyed it suspiciously.

"A presentation on why you should let me get chickens. I think you'll be surprised at just how much planning I've already done." 

_Can you take an extended lunch today?_

Atem stared at the text on his phone. This was an out-of-character move for his boyfriend and it made him nervous. But even after almost a year, _everything_ still made him nervous. He was still getting used to their much calmer dynamic, and his brain didn't know what to make of it half the time.

"Ooooh! Looks like your sugar daddy wants a nooner," Bakura said playfully, reading the text over Atem's shoulder. Atem's face turned bright red. 

"He does not! And stop calling him that. I'd still love him if he were penniless." 

Bakura chuckled. Atem went to type a response but stopped when he realized Bakura still hadn't moved. "Shoo! Stop snooping. It's gauche."

" _Gauche,_ is it? That's a new one. Did your sugar daddy teach it to you?"

" _Out._ "

Bakura skipped out of the shop and to the doorway of the stock room. Atem resumed his text.

 _Why?_ He wrote back. 

"Oi, Marik!" Bakura called. "Can you cover the rest of Atem's shift? He's going to go get railed by his _cavaliere servente._ "

"I am _not!_ " Atem yelled back. "And where do you pick up these terms?"

"The internet," Bakura said. 

"I can cover," Marik cut in. "Don't forget to use protection."

Atem’s phone beeped with a new text notification. 

_I need your opinion on something. It’s for a project. It’s really important._

"We are _not_ having sex!" Atem said, exasperated. "Seto needs to show me something."

"Yes, his _penis,_ " Bakura snickered. Marik's laughter echoed from the stockroom. Atem glared at Bakura. 

“I don’t know anything about tech,” Atem said. “Why does he need my opinion?”

Marik padded out of the stockroom and over to Atem. His eyes briefly scanned the text message. “Are you really that naive?” he asked. “That’s the pickup line! He wants your opinion on whether he’d look better on top of you or underneath you.” 

Atem pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate you both.” 

“You _loooooooove_ us!” Bakura sang. “You wouldn’t put up with us otherwise. We’ve got it, don’t worry. Now run off and get plowed.” 

“I _told_ you, this isn’t a nooner!”

“Well not if you don’t get going!” Bakura chirped. “Then it would be an _afternoon delight_.” He grinned wickedly. 

Atem flipped open his phone with a frustrated growl. 

_I’m taking the rest of the day off,_ he replied to Seto. 

“Bakura,” he said, “My threat from years ago still stands. Someday, I _will_ remove your eyes with a seam ripper.” He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. Bakura ignored him and went about cleaning the shop, humming cheerfully. 

Halfway to his truck he received another text. 

_Are you sure? This shouldn’t take too long._

_Trust me,_ Atem responded. _It’s for everyone’s benefit._

Atem had been given a key card for the private entrance to the KaibaCorp building, and since it also granted access to Seto’s personal elevator there was no need for a receptionist to buzz him in. 

Seto rose from his desk and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. Atem returned it happily, and then Seto pulled him in for a more proper smooch. 

“Is everything alright?” Atem asked. “I don’t know how much help I’ll be in regards to whatever tech you’re working on but I’ll try.”

Seto smiled. “It’s not a work project. It’s a family project. Mokuba made a presentation and I’d like your input as to what the outcome should be.”

Atem felt a roll of nausea wash over him. At one point, he almost felt the solidarity of family with them. But there was always that invisible barrier Seto kept between them, woven of childhood trauma, with warp threads dyed of the fears of abandonment and vulnerability, of showing weakness, and a weft spun from an inability to trust. It was a barrier that Atem could never break during that first try, no matter how much he pleaded, how loudly he screamed, how hard he kissed him or how furiously they made love.

"...Atem?" Seto squeezed his shoulder gently. Atem snapped out of this train of thought. He hadn't even realized he'd dissociated. He looked up into worried azure eyes. 

“Shouldn’t this be your decision?” Atem asked. “I mean, he’s your little brother, and I... well, I guess I just feel like I shouldn’t be intruding upon you two.” 

“You’ve been in Mokuba’s life since he was five. You’ve helped raise him too. And Mai has volunteered to be the tiebreaker if we come to an impasse.” 

Mai and Seto met at the start of their dueling careers. As time progressed they forged a careful alliance, both having lost their parents at an early age. She started babysitting Mokuba at tournaments while Seto dueled and as time went on, she became a sort of mother figure to Mokuba, volunteering to pick him up from school and tutor him when Seto took over KaibaCorp and couldn’t handle the workload on his own. She was still an important figure in their lives.

Seto guided Atem to the sofa, where a laptop was open and a PowerPoint presentation was queued up. The title slide read _The Benefits of Letting Younger Siblings Raise Poultry._

Mokuba had, in fact, done his research. The presentation left no stone unturned. He included blueprints for a solar-powered coop with a timed door as well as automatic feed and water dispensers and a security system to inform him of predators. There were charts detailing the types of hens he wanted to raise and why. Atem was particularly impressed with a chart outlining a very detailed diet and feeding schedule. The final slide was a rehoming plan if he couldn't continue taking care of the chickens. 

Atem smiled and snuggled into Seto. Mokuba was showing an increasing tenacity and precociousness, and his older brother's laser-like ability to focus. Seto was raising him well, despite the difficulties that had been thrown at them. 

“Chickens would be fun,” he said. “He just wants hens, correct? Not a rooster?”

Many years ago the Mutou family spent a summer house-sitting for Arthur and Rebecca Hawkins while they were in London. They lived on the outskirts of Domino City, and they had a small flock of chickens. Yugi and Atem loved collecting the eggs and petting the hens, who were gentle and very friendly. What Atem didn’t love was the rooster, who was hellbent on attacking his younger half-brother at every opportunity. He had to chase him into a separate pen before they could go anywhere near the hens. 

“He wasn’t specific but he didn’t say anything about roosters.” 

Atem nodded. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t let him give it a try.” 

“Agreed,” said Seto. He closed his laptop. “With a few concessions, of course. I’m going to be late for a meeting so I’ll text you when I’m done. Let’s get dinner tonight. We can lay out some plans to get the coop built and figure out what else we’ll need.”

“I’d like that.” Atem smiled. 

“Perfect.” Seto pulled him into a quick kiss. “I’ll pick you and Mokuba up from the game shop, and we’ll tell him together.”

As promised, Atem received a series of messages on his phone from Seto regarding conditions and restrictions, and they texted back and forth for the remainder of the day. Mai dropped Mokuba off at 4. Seto picked them up at 6, entering the game shop with a flourish and sweeping Atem into a deep, toe-curling kiss. Atem ignored the inevitable retching noises and booing from Marik and Bakura. Seto responded by kissing Atem even deeper, lifting him off the ground with one arm and flashing a middle finger at them with his free hand. They fetched Mokuba from the break room, piled into Seto’s black Nissan Skyline, and headed to Burger World. They found a quiet, secluded booth in the back of the restaurant. Sitting across from Seto and Atem, Mokuba was practically bouncing in his seat when their drinks arrived. 

“So did you review my presentation, Niichan? Can I have chickens? Can I? Pleeeeeeease?” 

Seto slid an arm around Atem’s waist and he scooted in closer. They smirked at each other. 

“Come oooon, you two!” Mokuba whined. “The suspense is literally killing me!”

“You don’t look like you’re dying,” Seto said coolly. “You appear to be alive and perfectly healthy.”

“ _Setooooo!”_

“You may get chickens.” 

“Yaaaaaay! Thank you Seto! I’m so excited!” He wiggled out of his side of the booth and ran around to give Seto and Atem bear hugs. 

“ _But,_ ” Atem said, “There are a few conditions.”

“Anything!” He ran back to his seat. 

“You’ll need to keep your grades up.” 

“If they get sick or injured we’ll take them to a veterinarian but you need to be present at the appointment as well,” Seto added. 

“No long-crowing breeds, and no roosters,” Atem said. 

“And finally,” Seto pulled out the not KC-brand flash drive and placed it on the table. “Stop buying the products of our direct competitors.” 

“Seto, give me some credit,” Mokuba said flatly. “I didn’t _buy_ that flash drive. They gave them to us at school.” 

Seto made a mental note to schedule a meeting with whoever was in charge of approving supply orders at Mokuba’s school. “That doesn’t mean you have to use it,” he said. 

“But don’t you want to know your competitors’ flaws? I’m the perfect double agent. I’m doing recon work so that we can make our flash drives better!” 

“He does have a point,” Atem chimed in. 

Their food arrived and they dug in, making lists of supplies and determining where they would put the coop.

Three days later construction began on the coop and enclosure. Seto, Mai, Mokuba, and Atem visited the same farm from their school trip. It was a family farm, run by the grandparents, and managed by their children. There was one grandchild, a boy named Sentaro, who was Mokuba's age, and they immediately became friends. He helped Mokuba chose eight Dutch Bantam chicks from the newest hatchlings. Sentaro’s grandmother sat down with Mokuba and went over how to care for the chicks until they were large enough to go into the coop, how to clean the brooder they would be staying in until then, and how and when they would need to be fed. They carefully loaded the chicks into the brooder and slid it into the backseat of the Skyline, along with a bag of colored marbles(to keep the chicks from falling into their drinking water) and some probiotic supplement. Mai had driven separately, and in her truck they loaded the rest of the equipment and bedding.

They set up the brooder in Mokuba’s room. He followed the farm’s instructions to the letter, getting up early before school to feed them and clean their brooder, and give each chick gentle handling so they got used to humans. At Mokuba’s insistence, Seto and Atem handled them in the evening, despite Seto’s protests(“I see no reason why I need to handle them, I’m never in the backyard.” “They need to be familiar with _everyone,_ Seto! Even Mai comes over to handle them!”). Whenever Atem walked by Mokuba’s room he was treated to the sounds of gentle peeping. He wondered how well Mokuba was actually sleeping, as they never appeared to quiet down, but if Mokuba was bothered he certainly wasn’t showing it. He was nothing but loving and caring to the chicks, and he seemed to be loving every minute of it. 

After two weeks the construction of the coop was completed. The chicks had nearly doubled in size and were much fluffier. Atem loved holding them in the palm of his hand and found their feathers were still quite soft. 

One afternoon he quietly caught Seto in Mokuba’s room, holding three chicks in his lap, quietly serenading them with Queensrÿche’s ‘Silent Lucidity.’ He felt his stomach flutter and did not intrude. 

By the third week they had lost most of their chick fluff, and by week four they had doubled in size again and looked a bit awkward and gangly.

May turned into June. By week five they had learned how to perch and were eager to practice on everything. Human arms were their favorite, and whenever anyone came in to visit them they would eagerly run over and hop on their arms. Seto noticed one of the chicks looked slightly different than the others but dismissed it as a probable breed variant. Atem caught Seto midway through a private chick performance of ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ and was quick to defend himself. 

“Metallica are a cornerstone of metal and Kirk Hammett is one of the greatest guitarists of all time,” he said. “It’s important they learn proper musical history.” Atem shook his head, kissed Seto’s forehead, and went back to studying. 

Seto continued to keep an eye on the odd-looking chick, which was slightly bigger than the others and had slightly larger feet. 

At six weeks of age, the chicks were released into the coop. They ran round their new home, exploring and pecking at everything, including each other. Atem and Seto had been warned that they would start establishing a hierarchy around this age, and Seto had installed security cameras around the coop to watch them in case things got out of hand. He had Isono stay at the mansion to help monitor the coop while everyone was at work and school just in case a fight needed to be broken up. As the chicks grew into pullets Seto noticed the large one was starting to develop a much fancier comb than the others, and it was growing much faster. He tried to push it out of his head but he had a sinking feeling. 

In late June Mokuba requested misters be installed in the coop to help keep the birds cool. Seto approved. On a quiet Sunday afternoon Atem came over to discover Seto’s office empty, and found him sitting cross-legged in the coop reading _Also Sprach Zarathustra_ to the flock in perfect German, one hen perched atop each knee, the others pecking the dirt around him and clucking gently. 

“Nietzsche?” Atem asked. 

“Well-read chickens produce quality eggs.” 

“Do you have scientific evidence to back that claim?”

“I’m working on that right now.” One of the hens pecked at Seto’s book. 

“I thought this was Mokuba’s project.” Atem leaned against the coop, grinning smugly. 

“Have you noticed one of the pullets is much larger than the others?” Seto asked, changing the subject. 

“I have,” said Atem. 

“Do you think it could be a rooster?” 

The pullet in question was strutting around the coop, occasionally flapping its wings. 

“It’s too soon to tell, I think,” Atem said. “We’ll know in a few months.” 

July swept through Domino and brought with it stifling heat, torrential rains, Mokuba’s eleventh birthday and Atem’s twenty-first. Seto continued to read to and serenade the birds. Sometimes Atem would join him. Seeing Seto sitting on the ground, surrounded by hens, made his heart melt, sometimes almost painfully. He was finding it increasingly difficult to fend off the waves of anxiety that had sprung up shortly after their reconciliation. Part of him was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. A wiser part of him knew it wouldn’t happen. As the chickens continued to grow, so had Seto. The brother that Mokuba missed, the one who smiled more and was kinder and softer, was starting to re-emerge. Atem was slowly realizing that, in a way, he was finally seeing the real Seto, what lay beneath layers of anger and childhood trauma that had been worked through and peeled away. It scared Atem somewhat, and he couldn’t figure out why. But sitting in the coop, with or without Seto, surrounded by sweet, happy birds who just wanted to perch on Atem’s shoulders, seemed to help put him at ease. 

The large pullet continued to grow faster than the other hens, and began to act more aggressively to everyone but Mai and Téa. It tolerated Mokuba and Atem, but it did not like Seto, and soon Seto was reading to the hens outside of the coop. When Mokuba invited Sentaro or the gang over for outdoor duels and movie nights, the pullet had to be put away in the nesting box to keep it from repeatedly charging at Yugi and the others. Atem had a sinking feeling about the pullet. The behavior was just too familiar. 

“It’s a rooster,” he said one evening while at Seto’s office. “It has to be.” 

“It can’t be,” Seto replied. “They picked hens. They were careful not to choose roosters.” 

“I’ve seen that behavior before, Seto. Hens don’t act that way. Roosters do. He’s trying to establish dominance. He sees you as the alpha threat.” 

“But we said no roosters. It isn’t like Mokuba to disobey something like that.”

“I don’t think he did it on purpose. I overheard Mokuba talking to Sentaro this weekend. Sentaro thinks it’s a rooster. He said his mother was taking a tally of the flock, and they were short one rooster but had one extra hen. I think we got one on accident.” 

Seto let out a frustrated sigh. “‘I’ll believe it’s a rooster when it starts crowing. I’m more worried about it having a medical condition at this point. Maybe we should call a poultry vet.” 

Atem let it go. It wasn’t worth fighting about. Years ago he would have taken the bait but he knew better now, and Seto didn’t push it. Somewhere the back of his mind registered that he was finding the re-emergence of Seto’s denial habits somewhat comforting. He pushed it away and went back to his homework. 

July melted into August. The pullets were nearly fully grown now, not growing much larger, but their feathers were maturing into pretty tan and brown plumage with soft, large, round tail feathers...except for that one lone pullet, which was developing absolutely gorgeous black iridescent tail feathers, while the rest of its body was colored with gold, orange, red, and black. It was nearly twice the size of the others. Atem found Mokuba staring at it one late afternoon. 

“I think Sentaro and I goofed,” Mokuba said quietly. “That’s definitely a rooster.”

“A very beautiful rooster, yes,” Atem agreed. 

“I swear I didn’t mean to get a rooster.” Mokuba looked down at the ground. “Will I be allowed to keep him?”

“That’s going to be up to your brother,” Atem said. 

“But you have a say-so too, right? You two looked at my presentation together.”

Atem sighed. “It’s not that simple, Moki. This is Seto’s house. I don’t live here.”

“But you’re family! Seto says so all the time. So what if you don’t live here yet? Seto loves you so much. He’s trying so hard. He wants to marry you someday. He says you’re the only person he’s ever had feelings for and he can’t even think about being with anyone else.” Mokuba looked up at Atem with worried indigo eyes. “You love him too, right?”

“Of course I do. With all of my heart.” Atem threaded his fingers through the fence of the chicken coop and looked down at the chickens to try and calm himself. “But we’re taking things very, very slowly right now. We don’t want to mess this up again. I...it takes a lot of work, Moki. We both have things we’re working through separately so that they don’t damage the relationship.”

“You know you’ve been together for almost a year now, right?” Mokuba took some dried corn out of his pocket and tossed it into the coop. The hens scattered after it happily. 

“Yes,” Atem said. “But things take time. You can’t just love somebody and expect all of the pieces to fall into place. You have to put them there yourself.”

“So then put the pieces where they belong and help each other when you get stuck. Why are you both making this so complicated? I don’t care about the fact that you haven’t moved in yet. You’re my brother too. You’ve helped raise me as much as Seto and Mai. I think you should get a say in whether or not I get to keep the rooster. If you can’t agree Mai can break the tie.”

Atem knelt down so that he was eye level with Mokuba. “I think it should be up to you, because this is your project. But I’ll ask Seto.” 

“Yay! You’re the best, Atem!” Mokuba gave him a big hug. 

“You’re welcome.” Atem pulled back and ruffled his hair. “You may have to wait a bit, however. Your brother seems to be in denial and prefers to think of the rooster as just a large, aggressive hen.” 

Mokuba rolled his eyes. “Of course he does...you know what I think?” 

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re both being idiots. Just hit the reset button and _love_ each other.” He headed back into the house. 

He sighed. He knew it should, in theory, be that simple. But Seto Kaiba was a complicated man. 

Finding an opportunity to broach the subject was nearly impossible. As August rolled into September, Seto was tied up in meetings and the workload of planning the next Battle City tournament, Between Seto’s hectic work schedule and Atem’s school schedule they barely had time to see each other all week. Atem set it aside for now, he wanted to enjoy what little time with Seto he had. 

At nearly two in the morning he was roused abruptly from sleep to the sounds of loud, shrill crowing. He felt Seto sit up next to him. The crowing resumed. 

“That sounds like a rooster,” Seto growled.

“It does,” Atem replied, voice groggy. “And not a very intelligent one.” 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Seto hissed. 

“I _told_ you it was a rooster.” 

“Yes, you did.” He sighed and fell back on the bed. “I’m sorry, Atem.”

“For what?” 

“For avoiding... _this._ ” 

As if on cue, the confirmed rooster crowed happily. 

“I’ve been so tied up in work I haven’t had enough time for us to sit down properly and talk, and for whatever damn reason that last talk we had about the rooster triggered something I thought I’d worked through.” 

“You’ve never been good at handling being incorrect.” Atem mused. 

“I know, and that’s the problem. I…” he sat up again. Atem followed. “I didn’t like being wrong because when we were younger I incorrectly perceived it as weakness. It was something Gozaburo drilled into my head in very painful ways.”

Atem crawled over to Seto and gently wrapped his arms around him, guiding his head into the crook of his own neck, fingers weaving through soft brown locks of hair. 

“What I don’t get,” Seto continued, “Is why it took something as inconsequential as _the gender of a freaking bird_ to trigger it.” He breathed in Atem’s scent. 

“Because when you’re a victim of abuse, your brain is in a state of constant hypervigilance. It has to be, because you never know when the next attack is coming.” Atem gently massaged Seto’s scalp. “I’ve seen the same behavior in Joey multiple times.” he paused. “I know he gets under your skin, but you two have more in common than I think you realize.” 

Seto nodded. 

“I don’t think any less of you when you’re wrong about something,” Atem murmured. “I don’t love you any less. We are not perfect creatures, Seto. The important thing is that you’re learning from it, and you’re evolving, you’re becoming stronger and better with each step you take.” He planted a gentle kiss atop Seto’s head and took a deep breath. “The fault is not yours alone. I’ve been avoidant too. I’m just as scared as you are. I have fears about not measuring up, not being enough, because I couldn’t save us the first time.” 

“That was an unfair burden of me to place on you.” 

“I took it upon myself, Seto.”

“Only because I wouldn’t let you in.” He tightened his arms around Atem’s waist. 

“But you’ve mended that now. Here we are, having a conversation neither one of us could get near in our adolescence.” 

They held each other in silence, the rooster crowing every so often. 

Seto broke their embrace and shifted himself upwards so that he was eye level with Atem. 

“Move in with me.” 

Atem’s eyes widened. “What?”

“It isn’t right of me to ask for parental input regarding Mokuba while expecting you to divide your time between staying here and living at home. We’re a family, and I want you to feel included. Mokuba loves you. He looks up to you. He respects your authority as much as mine or Mai’s.”

“Seto…are you certain?”

“I want to fall asleep with you every night, and wake up with you every morning. I want us to have a life together, you know that. We’ve worked our asses off to lay a foundation but the only way to test it is to build on it. If we find cracks or weak points we’ll fix them and keep going.”

Atem’s emotions were split into directly conflicting sides. Half of him was ecstatic. He didn’t get enough time with Seto as it was, and this would help that, and he wanted this as much as Seto did. But the other half of him was terrified. What if it didn’t work again? What would happen then? He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Seto again, possibly permanently this time. 

“Seto, we aren’t out of the woods yet.”

“I know we aren’t. But we’re stronger as a team. You helped me see that. You’ve been right about that every time.” He pulled Atem close. “If we keep waiting for something to change it will never happen.” 

Mokuba’s words echoed in Atem’s mind. _So then put the pieces where they belong and help each other when you get stuck. Just hit the reset button and_ love _each other._

And he knew, deep down, it was time. 

“I’ll do it.” 

He launched himself at Seto and sealed their lips in a kiss. Seto fell back and pulled Atem on top of him. Atem trailed a line of kisses down Seto’s jawline and neck. 

The rooster crowed again. They both sighed irritably. 

“What do we do about the rooster?” Atem asked. 

“Well, we’re far enough out that we’re not violating noise ordinances so legally Mokuba can keep it. You also mentioned Sentaro’s grandparents were short a rooster. Maybe they’d like it back.”

“What if we let Mokuba decide? He’s done well so far.” 

Seto smiled. “I think that’s a good idea.” 

Atem kissed him again. “Good. Let’s try to get some sleep.” He rolled off of Seto and nestled into his side. Seto ran a hand through Atem’s bangs and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. 

“I love you,” he murmured. 

“I love you too.” 

They were nearly asleep when the rooster crowed once more. Seconds later they heard a door open, followed by indignant footsteps. 

“Be quiet!” Mokuba scolded. “I know you can crow now and I’m happy for you but this household is trying to sleep! You’re supposed to crow at _sunrise_.” He stomped back into the house. 

Atem and Seto burst into laughter. 

Three days later, Atem and Joey were moving boxes into the manor when they were interrupted by very loud clucking from one of the hens. They dropped the box and raced to the back yard, fearing a predator had somehow broken into the coop. They stopped when they heard Mokuba’s joyful yell. 

“Eeeeeeeggs!” he cheered. “One of the hens just laid their first egg!” Mokuba ran down the hall to Joey and Atem and stretched out his hand to show them the small, white, still-warm egg. 

“Congrats, buddy!” Joey said. “It’s kinda small, though. Is that normal?”

“Yeah. They’re Dutch bantams so they lay smaller eggs. But they lay a lot of them to make up for it. They lay about three times as many eggs as other bantam breeds.”

Another hen started clucking. 

“More eggs!” Mokuba yelled. He sprinted to the kitchen to put the first egg away, then ran back to the coop. 

The remainder of the afternoon was spent moving boxes, and listening to Mokuba cheer over the eggs. As Seto helped him unpack and they rearranged the bedroom Atem finally began to feel the anxiety start to lessen a bit. It didn’t vanish completely, and they still had a lot of work ahead of them but this time, things would really truly be different. Where Seto had retreated and given up before he was now determined and resolute. And somewhere, deep in that same place Atem had felt three nights ago, he knew they would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Did Seto and Atem fix everything in this ficlet? Nope. Some of their conversations may appear disjointed but I wanted them to be that way, because Atem and Seto both still have things they need to confront, and healing takes years. Also I need material for future fics xD 
> 
> Mai got more of a backseat role in this fic, and her place in the AU is very, very far from canon, but I'm still working on her character development and trying to keep her as in-character as I can. I like Mai. She's a badass, and in Duelist Kingdom we do get to see a very small part of a more nurturing side of her. 
> 
> Mokuba is a smart kid, just like his brother, but I wanted to make sure he still retained some childhood innocence. I think he's also a bit more astute than Seto sometimes gives him credit for, hence him believing they're both overthinking some aspects of the relationship and being stupid, and in a way, he's right. But we all know how angsty and dramatic both Seto and Atem can be. I also wanted him to have a friend his age, because we don't see him socialize with any other children at all in the manga or anime, and he needs that. Added bonus: having a friend whose family owns a farm is major foreshadowing for his future. <3
> 
> Atem's mentioning of Joey may also be foreshadowing. *evil grin* 
> 
> A note on birthdays:  
> Atem's birthday appears to be up for debate. I did find one source that lists it as July 26th, and that's what I went with since I couldn't find anything else. For all I know that could have been the day Yugi finished the puzzle. This same source lists Yami Bakura's birthday as September 1st. Since Yami Marik wasn't a reincarnation but rather an entity born of an aspect of Malik I have no freaking clue what to do about him. xD He's already severely out of character if you compare him to canon, and I'm still trying to peel off the layers of insanity to get to what his personality may have been if he wasn't so angry and psychotic. 
> 
> Dutch Bantams are absolutely delightful, adorable birbs and when I have land and a homestead I will absolutely be raising a flock of them. They are a relatively chill breed, very docile, and smaller-sized, perfect for a kid like Mokuba. For the sake of plot I may have written the rooster to be more obnoxious than they normally are. :P 
> 
> As always, thank you all SO MUCH for the kudos/comments/shares, and feedback always appreciated! <3 
> 
> The chickens will make appearances in future fics in this AU.


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